Rush

I'll hold my breath
2004-03-14 01:23:41 (UTC)

Sweet Story

Lauren... I'm not sure how to get a hold of you. My mom
took my phone away so I don't have your number... I haven't
seen you on-line for a while... and I can't remember what
your e-mail address is. Is it still the Halo one? Well... I
hope you don't get mad, but I'm also going to put this in a
reply to your diary. I really hope you get this. Love you
lots and I hope I'm able to call you soon. Hope your life
is going well... bye.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,

I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

His name was Kyle.

It looked like he was carrying all of his
books.

I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all
his books on a
Friday?

He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football
game with my
friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my
shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward
him.

They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his
arms and tripping
him so he landed in the dirt.

His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the
grass about ten
feet from him.

He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his
eyes.

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and
as he crawled
around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in
his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are
jerks.

They really should get lives.

" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face.

It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he
lived.

As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why
I had never seen
him before.

He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid
before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his
books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

I asked him if he wanted to play a little football
with my friends.

He said yes.

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know
Kyle, the more I
liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge
stack of books
again.

I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really
build some serious
muscles with this pile of books everyday!

" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best
friends.

When we were seniors, we began to think
about college.

Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
was going to Duke.

I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles
would never be a
problem

He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for
business on a football
scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class.

I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and
speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle.

He looked great.

He was one of those guys that really found himself
during high school.

He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved
him.

Boy, sometimes I was jealous.

Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech.

So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy,
you'll be
great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really
grateful one) and
smiled.

"Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and
began.

"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you
make it through
those tough years.

Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a
coach...but mostly
your friends...

I am here to tell all of you that being a
friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.

I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told
the story of the
first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his
Mom wouldn't have
to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved.

My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this
handsome, popular boy
told us all about his weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that
same grateful
smile.

Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person's life.

For better or for worse.

God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one
another in some
way.

Look for God in others.

You now have two choices, you can:

1) Pass this on to your friends or

2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

As you can see, I took choice number 1.
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our
wings have trouble
remembering how to fly."

There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a gift.

It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how
much you care.
Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.

If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a
circle of friends.

I may not believe in God, right now i'm not sure what I
believe in, but I do believe in my friends and My Love. I
still wish I could think of name for you, but I also don't
want to just come up with a name. I want it to have a
special meaning. It'll come when the time's right. I love
you. And I love all my friends too! I love you Lauren
Garrison! Love you Lauren, Meryl, Jess, Russ, Beth, and
everyone else I need not say because you all know who you
are.


~With love,

Katie (A.K.A.) Your Snowbunny,
Squishy, Caitlin the Maniac, Howard, Howwie, Katers, and...
if I still am... your Willow. Love you all. And you don't
have to send it back if you don't want to. It's just a
sweet e-mail I got from a friend. Later.




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